How to Boost Your Search Rankings and Avoid the Pitfalls of SEO Marketing

Rise to the TopHow to Boost Your Search Rankings and Avoid the Pitfalls of SEO Marketing

Chris Heiler


1. On-Page vs. Off-Page Ranking Factors2. Local Search Ranking Factors3. Avoiding the Pitfalls of Black-Hat SEO

Rise to the TopOn-Page vs. Off-Page Ranking Factors

SEO is about ensuring the content on your website generates the right type of signals for search engines.

On-Page vs. Off-Page Ranking Factors

1. On-page ranking factorsContentHTMLArchitecture

2. Off-page ranking factorsLinksSocialTrustPersonal

http://searchengineland.com/seotable

On-Page Ranking Factors

1. Your website’s content2. Your website’s HTML3. Your website’s architecture

On-Page: Your Website’s Content





On-Page: Your Website’s HTML

1. URLs2. Title tags3. Meta descriptions4. Headlines and subheadings5. Keywords on page6. Images



On-Page: Your Website’s Architecture

1. Can search engines easily “crawl” the pages on your website? Do they find errors?

2. Does your website load quickly?



Off-Page Ranking Factors

1. Inbound links2. Social media3. Trust4. Personal

Off-Page: Inbound Links

Off-Page: Inbound Links

1. Blogging2. Guest blogging and writing3. Local search directories4. Business directories and other organizations



Off-Page: Social Media

1. Share website/blog content on social networks

2. Include keywords in your updates3. Pay attention to on-page elements

like title, description, images, etc.4. Optimize images for networks





Off-Page: Trust

1. Websites with a long history are seen as more trust-worthy.

2. Search engines also consider how long your domain name is registered for (use www.Whois.com).

3. The web pages your site links to are also a strong signal that factors into your rankings.



Off-Page: Personal

1. Search results are influenced by who is searching2. Location plays a role in search results3. Your social graph is beginning to play a larger role in

how search results are displayed

On-Page vs. Off-Page Ranking Factors

1. On-page ranking factorsContentHTMLArchitecture

2. Off-page ranking factorsLinksSocialTrustPersonal

Rise to the TopLocal Search Ranking Factors

40+ SEO ExpertsParticipants were asked to rank the top 20 factors of a possible 104 overall ranking factors that they believe drive Google's Local Search algorithms. Participants were asked to rank the positive factors based on the following question:

“When Google ranks a business in its Local Search results, I believe this is the ____ overall most important factor in those rankings.”

David Mihm

“Local” vs. “Universal” Search

Local Search Ranking Factors

#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)

Local Search Ranking Factors

#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)

Local Search Ranking Factors#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)#3: Consistency of structured citations (#11)

Local Search Ranking Factors#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)#3: Consistency of structured citations#4: Quality/authority of structured citations (#8)

Local Search Ranking Factors#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)#3: Consistency of structured citations#4: Quality/authority of structured citations (#8)#5: Website NAP (name, address, phone) matching Google+ Local page NAP (#10)

Local Search Ranking Factors#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)#3: Consistency of structured citations#4: Quality/authority of structured citations (#8)#5: Website NAP (name, address, phone) matching Google+ Local page NAP (#10)#6: Quantity of structured citations (#5)

Local Search Ranking Factors#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)#3: Consistency of structured citations#4: Quality/authority of structured citations (#8)#5: Website NAP (name, address, phone) matching Google+ Local page NAP (#10)#6: Quantity of structured citations (#5)#7: Domain authority of website (#4)

Local Search Ranking Factors#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)#3: Consistency of structured citations#4: Quality/authority of structured citations (#8)#5: Website NAP (name, address, phone) matching Google+ Local page NAP (#10)#6: Quantity of structured citations (#5)#7: Domain authority of website (#4)#8: Owner-verified Google+ Local page (#12)

Local Search Ranking Factors#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)#3: Consistency of structured citations#4: Quality/authority of structured citations (#8)#5: Website NAP (name, address, phone) matching Google+ Local page NAP (#10)#6: Quantity of structured citations (#5)#7: Domain authority of website (#4)#8: Owner-verified Google+ Local page (#12)#9: City, State in Google+ Local landing page title (#6)

Local Search Ranking Factors#1: Proper category associations on your Google+ Local page (#2)#2: Physical address in city of search (#1)#3: Consistency of structured citations (#11)#4: Quality/authority of structured citations (#8)#5: Website NAP (name, address, phone) matching Google+ Local page NAP (#10)#6: Quantity of structured citations (#5)#7: Domain authority of website (#4)#8: Owner-verified Google+ Local page (#12)#9: City, State in Google+ Local landing page title (#6)#10: Proximity of address to city centroid (#3)

Local Search Ranking FactorsBonus:

#11: Quality/authority of inbound links to domain (#14)#12: Quantity of native Google+ Local reviews (#7)#14: Quantity of citations from locally-relevant domains#15: Physical location (searcher-to-business distance)#16: Quantity of citations from industry-relevant domains#25: Quality/authority of unstructured citations (newspaper articles, blog posts, etc) Quantity of these citations is #39

The impact of social signals is still pretty low. Factors like Facebook shares, +1s, etc begin appearing in the #50s.

Rise to the TopAvoiding the Pitfalls of Black-Hat SEO

White-Hat vs. Black-Hat SEO

• Article marketing• Sponsored posts• Link building• Purchasing links• Link exchanges• Comment spam• Keyword stuffing• Doorway pages• Spamming social media

• Original content• customer-centric content• Link “earning”• Relevant guest posting• Social media

What to look out for:1. Cost2. Guaranteed rankings for keywords3. Minimum number of inbound links each month4. Meaningless reporting5. Is paid search included?6. Content?

Questions to ask:1. Do you have experience with green industry

companies?2. Do you have case studies? Recommendations?3. How will you measure progress and success?4. What will your reports look like? 5. Will you create original content?


1. On-Page vs. Off-Page Ranking Factors2. Local Search Ranking Factors3. Avoiding the Pitfalls of Black-Hat SEO

Next StepsClaim/update your Google+ Local Page • http://www.google.com/places/

Get a free listings scan• http://www.landscapeleadership.com/listings-scan

Download the Local Business Directory Worksheet• http://www.landscapeleadership.com/worksheet--local-business-directories

Review how to use keywords the right way• http://www.landscapeleadership.com/your-keyword-phrase

Download this slide deck• http://www.landscapeleadership.com/rise-to-the-top


Chris Heiler

[email protected](800) 681-9169